Starting our day with Den Leader Mike and Assistant Den Leader Eric.
The Weather Rock...we all got a kick out of this. Better pic of the sign below.
The first activity we visited was fire building. The boys learned about tinder, kindling, types of fire structures (log cabin, lean to, teepee), and how to best put them all together to start a fire.
The boys had to collect sticks smaller than their pinkies as they prepared to start their fire.
After preparing their 'birds nest' of tinder, they placed sticks on top of it and were ready to use a striker.
Jonathan had an opportunity to try the rope igniter tool, which didn't work as well as planned.
When in doubt.....go to matches.
Next stop was the meal preparation station sponsored by the Boy Scout Troop out of St. Theresa Church. The boys had to wash their hands before learning about various cooking devices and eventually making their own food. These folks were recruiting more than any other Troop we visited today.
Learning about various cooking equipment and options.
Starting to make quesadillas....
Time to eat!
First aid station, Jonathan learned how to tie an ankle support in case he twists an ankle while hiking or playing sports.
The boys learned a bit about CPR, dressing wounds, and how to make a stretcher from a tarp and branches.
Next up was the Dutch Oven activity. They boys learned about cast iron cooking and how to prepare a meal at a campsite. They also talked about making desserts in a dutch oven then mixed the ingredients for an apple cake and used Sprite instead of eggs, where the carbonation acted as leavening agent. We didn't get to taste the batter or stick around long enough to taste the final product but the kids enjoyed it. Jonathan said this was his favorite stop.
Next up was a basic square knot session (which they've learned in the past) before being able to cross the monkey bridge. This was another popular stop for most scouts.
By far the most popular event of the day was BB gun shooting! We spent about 10 minutes listening to safety instructions from the Range Security Officer before they allowed us on the range.
I think we had 11 Scouts at this point, our boys are the ones in the tan shirts.
I thought the BB gun session was very well done. The boys would complete one step at a time as they settling in and then put their hands in their lap to indicate they were ready for the next step. The steps included putting on safety glasses, loading a bb, pumping the gun and finally taking it off safety and firing down range. The Scouts had a variety of marksmen present with some boys hitting the target a few times and other boys putting a hurting on their target.
This was Jonathan's second time shooting a bb gun (first time was in North Carolina) and he did pretty darn good.
They were responsible for replacing their targets when they were done and they go to keep their sheets.
From what I could tell, Jonathan seemed to have the most consistent shot and put 7 or 8 in the inner-most circle. He had fun but admitted that shooting in North Carolina was more enjoyable, which I agreed with.
The boys played Gaga ball for a short bit before jumping over to the "survival" activity.
I have a short video that I may load but one of the survival items they learned about was how to make a fire with a 9 volt batter, steel wool and cotton ball. I remember seeing this on TV once and forgot how quick and easy the process was. You basically rub the two leads of the battery on the steel wool and it immediately starts burning the fine material. Place the steel wool on the cotton and it starts a nice little fire that you can use to start a larger camp fire.
They also learned about building a basic shelter against a tree with a tarp and other supplies you can find in the woods.
After our closing flag ceremony, we headed to the food line where they had hamburger or turkey burger patties. Other ingredients you could add include onions, peppers, carrots, green beans, potatoes and different types of sauces to mix in (hot sauce, bbq, steak sauce, etc.). We had to make our own cooking packages from tin foil that we would eventually throw on the coals to cook.
The fire took longer than expected to prepare so the Scouts stayed busy play sharks and minnows. Once ready, everyone threw their meals (which were labeled with our names) onto the coals and let it cook for about 10 minutes on each side. This is the same way I learned to prepare a campsite meal when I went camping as a kid. It was delicious.
It was an excellent day and the experience exceeded our expectations so we were very pleased. Jonathan had a great time and we picked up a few new tricks for future camping or hiking trips.
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